Led to the Rocks
by PoisonousWhiteRose
Summary: Julian is a merman that longs to be in the human world. He loves the people he glimpses and the treasures that find their way to below the Sea's surface. Looking for a part of such a treasure, he gets caught in a storm. The same storm that takes out Emma's ship e fearsome pirate, left with no other choice, makes port in a town. The same town close to Julian's home under
1. Chapter 1

Underneath the hypothermic layer of the sea, the sun's rays looked like floating jewels. And it usually gave no indication of what was happening on the surface.

Creatures under the sea had survived eons whilst war and famine raged on above them, blissfully unaware.

Unless you were Julian. Julian somehow always found a way to make it to the top. If only to hear the birds above him. It was one of his favorite sounds. The others being; in no particular order: the laughter from his siblings, the waves crashing on a nearby beach, and the muffled tinkle that his treasures always made when they bumped into each other in his cave. Of course, the first was rare, now that he was a sibling down. The second was "forbidden" seeing as how that was the reason he had lost a piece of his heart to begin with. The third..well. The third was forbidden. But Julian had an adrenaline junkie's streak in him and he refused to stop hoarding his treasures.

Then again, as Julian's mind turned to that day that his sister, Livvy, had followed him to the beach where he occasionally looked for the things that humans threw away and— his mind broke from that line of thinking before he could get in real trouble. Perhaps he _should_ stop coming to the beach. But Livvy wouldn't have wanted that. All she ever wanted was her family happy and collecting these treasures were his way to be happy.

The stolen moments that treasure seeking brought him were a Poseidon-send. They afforded him a respite from being his family's caretaker. He was the only one they depended on. Helen sometimes sent money when she could spare it, but she was traveling through the oceans and looking for jobs so that his family could move and have a better life. Mark, well...Mark was the babysitter.

 _Maybe the kids are taking care of him.._ Julian shook his head. Mark had suddenly returned after being kidnapped and he was hopelessly lost. Julian didn't want to think about what had been done to him to make him like.. A child again.

The sparkle of a possible treasure brought Julian out of his mind and back to his hunt.

The necklace was a delicate chain and from it hung a single ring. The thick, silver ring was embossed with thorns and something that looked like castle towers. The design was weird and unique. Exactly what Julian loved to collect.

The necklace, somehow retaining its shine even at the bottom of the sea, was exquisitely made. The silver glinted and the ring was heavy, a sure indicator that the metal used to forge it was real. The design was etched in by a steady hand and the chain's links were small and barely noticeable but held fast when Julian pulled on it to test the strength of the clasp.

As Julian was admiring the craftsmanship, a shadow passed over him. He didn't pay any mind to it; ships passed by all the time. However, this time, it wasn't a ship. It would be a storm so powerful his entire life would change.

The wind started howling above the surface, so powerful that Julian heard it at the bottom.

He looked up, surprised. Not even during the hurricanes that were so prevalent nowadays did the merpeople hear the wind under the sea. The churning started just below the surface, reaching lower and lower with every second. Until, finally, it reached where Julian was. He had tried to escape it. Swum his hardest but there was nothing he could do as his vision became pitch black.

* * *

Above the surface, the majestic ship _The Cordelia_ was bracing for the storm. Its' captain, the fearsome pirate Carstairs, was at the helm watching with worried eyes.

The ship was not only her pride and joy but it had tremendous sentimental value. Her parents had given it to her just before they were captured and hung as pirates. The love between was always palpable and Emma had hoped, at least as a little girl, that she would find someone like that. Of course, as the years passed and their death grew farther and farther away she didn't give the dream as much hope as she once had.

Now her hope was to make it to shore still alive.

The storm had been forecasted. But nobody had been prepared for its power. Emma ordered the entire crew below deck. Everyone obeyed. Captain Carstairs always put on airs of being fearsome and terrifying but her crew knew different. She genuinely cared about each and every one of them. Her parents had been the same way and the captain had learned by example. The first mate, the same one her parents had taught, had always seen the captain through a father's eyes. He, being the same age as her parents had they not gotten caught, was beloved by Emma and she beloved by him. Of course, all this affection interchanged by the captain and the crew meant that the crew respected and was unfailingly loyal to the captain.

The wind howling, the captain tried to maneuver the ship towards the outskirts of the storm. Emma felt tugging on the wheel. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the first mate trying to help her. She should have known better than to think he would stay below when she was still above.

The captain would never admit it but she really needed his help. Who knows how bad the damage would have been if he hadn't helped her when he did.

But nonetheless, there was damage. And as Emma flew off the deck and into the churning water below, she knew there was going to be heartbreak.


	2. Chapter 2

Julian opened his eyes to see sand. Yellow sand. Not the type found under the water but the type found on land. The very place he was forbidden to go. But that was impossible. He would never swim here deliberately, especially not after- he choked off that thought before it could consume him.

He shook his head, trying to recall the last thing he had seen.

As Julian was admiring the craftsmanship, a shadow passed over him. He didn't pay any mind to it; ships passed by all the time. However, this time, it wasn't a ship. It would be a storm so powerful his entire life would change.

The wind started howling above the surface, so powerful that Julian heard it at the bottom.

He looked up, surprised. Not even during the hurricanes that were so prevalent nowadays did the merpeople hear the wind under the sea. The churning started just below the surface, reaching lower and lower with every second. Until, finally, it reached where Julian was. He had tried to escape it.

But he, evidently, hadn't been able to. The storm had been too powerful and his mind immediately went to his siblings. Whether or not they had stayed safely inside or whether the city in which they lived was destroyed. Either way, he needed to get back immediately. The water lapping at his tail suddenly wooshed up and around him as though hearing his thoughts and deciding to help.

As he struggled to turn around so he could push himself back into the sea, he saw an almost white object floating a few yards away. Curiosity was going to kill him.

He pulled himself along the strip of beach that he had washed up on. He wanted to know what that was. Maybe it was the necklace he had been looking at before the storm had taken him. No, that necklace was feet away from the floating thing, being dragged in and out with the tide.

The white floating thing appeared to be attached to something. And now that Julian was closer he could see that it wasn't anything strange but rather hair. Blonde hair. But Julian didn't know of any mermaid that had that shade of hair. They had blue, green, red, purple, black, brown and dirty blonde but not this almost translucent shade of blonde. As Julian pushed off the sand and into the water next to the head of hair, the rest of the body floated up. Like it was waiting for him.

The body that appeared seemingly out of nowhere was gorgeous. He couldn't believe his eyes. It was also missing a tail. In its place was two long, sleek, and athletic legs. Julian tilted his head. This must be a human. The same type of creature who took his Livvy away from him….

He backed away, anger in his heart. Determined to leave this woman to drown or die of too much sun or whatever else fate had in mind for her.

As his arms lifted to swim away, she emitted a small sound. A whimper. And Julian sighed as he turned back around.

Livvy would hate him for leaving her to die, no matter what had been done to her. So Julian wrapped his arms around the beautiful creature and started pulling her towards the beach. He laid the woman out near the tide line and positioned her in a way that looked semi comfortable. Julian started to back away when she started making sounds and thrashing. She seemed asleep. Maybe he could escape without her knowing anything about them.

When she opened her eyes, all she saw was blue. Not the cerulean jewel that this strip of sea becomes after a storm. But a light, almost white, sky blue. Then she turned her head and threw up sea water. After purging all the saltwater from her system, her breath coming in gasps, she lifted her head and looked around.

********This is a line*********************************

The sand was yellow, almost brown where the tide was washing it. Still breathing hard, Emma started crawling up the beach, struggling to find purchase in the otherwise fluid sand.

Suddenly, there was pressure from behind her. As though the sea itself was giving her strength to get to higher ground. But, even though she believed in mystical forces and things that one couldn't explain, that was impossible.

Emma gasped, looked back and found the surprise in his eyes.

His.

HIS!

She suddenly found the strength to flip over and crawl backwards. The boy-man-person shook his head and moved closer for every step she took. "No. It's OK." He whispered softly, as soft as the waves crashing on the shore. A deep voice, command noticeable even in those three barely breathed words. She stopped her frantic movement, compelled by the innate power in his voice.

What am I doing?! Am I stupid?! I must be because why the hell else would I stop when he tells me to? The zip that raced through me when our eyes connected was silly and as stupid as I apparently am...right?

Emma's thoughts raced around her head faster than her ship-HER SHIP!

She snapped out of the trance his words had put her in-an actual trance maybe?-and started looking around to try to locate her Cordelia with minimal luck. Past the rock outcropping to her immediate left, Emma could see the top mast bent and broken and waving in the wind.

Her heart dropped. She couldn't believe that the ship was broken. After all the years her parents had had her, all the travels they went on even before Emma came along not to mention the travels they went on as a family, Her beloved ship was broken. Her last link to the beloved family she lost much too soon. A whimper escaped her parted lips. Her breath came faster. Heaving, she tried to crawl to the rocks, tried to get to her home.

She heard a faint splash and felt something on her ankles. Startled, Emma turned around and saw that the man had tried to stop her. Who the hell did this guy think he was?! Emma jerked her leg away from him, making him release her.

She couldn't believe that this guy-person-thing had the balls to grab her and stop her from trying to get home. "I'm Julian." Emma jerked back. The person thing talks.

"Are you OK?" His tail splashed. Tail. Right. He has a tail and a very nice, deep sounding voice. A very nice voice. His extra appendage wasn't all that bad either. It was shimmering. Like a jewel. Green and blue and gorgeous and ethereal. It's almost see through. At least that's what it looks like. She shook her head. There was no denying that this creature was beautiful but Emma refused to be distracted from the potential damage her home suffered.

"I'm fine. Thanks for asking. Now excuse me, what was it-Julian, I need to leave here."

"I don't think you are going to be leaving by water. Perhaps by land."

At that moment, there was a noise in the distance. A voice. Muffled and far-flung. The couple on the sand froze. Emma turned toward the sound, drawn to the strange familiarness of it. She strained in that direction, hoping to identify it. "mema!" "Emma!"

After a second, she recognized her name and that beloved voice, the first mate's voice, screaming her name. Desperation and terror were more than evident. A shaky "EMMA!" made her eyes water. She got on her hands and knees and began scrambling again, away from the water, towards the voice that had guided her since her parents' death years previous. A splash distracted her, made her turn towards the water again.

In just enough time to see the last bit of that ethereal tail wave back at her.


	3. Chapter 3

Emma continued looking on as ripples expanded and died with the movement of his tail. The person was magnificent. She couldn't believe her eyes and now that he wasn't in front of her, she was more than sure it had been a dream. A lovely, beautiful, hopeful dream; but a dream nonetheless.

Just then, the first mate, Cameron, appeared over the rock outcropping. "Oh!" he exclaimed. "Captain! Are ya all right? Is anything broken? Can you move? Ya know what, just stay down there and I'll be right down!"

Emma sighed, resigned to her spot on the damp sand, knowing that Cameron wasn't going to let her get up until he had thoroughly searched her for any bumps or bruises.

As he scrambled over the rocks, Emma laid back and tried to relax and take stock of her body. _Breathing hurts a little, so I probably have bruised ribs. My fingers and toes are OK. My legs can move so I don't have a spinal injury. My head hurts but that would coincide with a possible concussion._ Emma ran through the possible injuries like a checklist in her head. Her mother had taught her about medicine. Processes and terms the mainland doctors hadn't yet thought of. Her mother had been to school and had been taught by her father. She had been worlds away from the certified medicals in the cities. It had helped her throughout the years. She had taught the ship doctor too.

Cameron had finally reached her, his chest heaving and face red as a tomato. Gasping, he tried to speak. "Captain- _gasp-_ are- _gasp-_ you- _gasp-_ OK?" He finally made it through a coherent sentence. "Yes. I'm fine. A little banged up but otherwise unharmed. Are you? Did you happen to see something here as you were coming up, Cameron?"

He took a giant breath and spoke, exhaling as he did. "Like what, Captain?"

Emma shook her head. _He hadn't seen the merman. I saw a fricking merman.. merpeople are real?!_

Her mom would have flipped. Her dad would have laughed. Even though it's been more than five years since their deaths, Emma still had moments where she didn't remember they weren't here anymore and it burned in her chest like a fireball. She shook it off. Maybe this was like a wake up call. She had been out at sea since her parents' death. Maybe it was time to get her land legs back.

Either way, they needed to get their boat fixed and that would take time and money. Thankfully, Emma had plenty of money. Time, well that could be negotiated. It would depend on the parts that were available in the port they had crash landed on. Cameron had finally caught his breath and was helping her up. It endured him to Emma. Especially considering, he never sat down during his watch because he wouldn't have been able to get up. Heaving, Cameron stayed bent at the waist, catching his breath yet again after "helping" Emma up. She hadn't put any weight on him and he could barely stand it. But Emma didn't have it in her heart to tell him to stay on land. He loved sailing as much as she did. And he had been sailin with her parents. As much as Emma _should_ have told him to stop, she wasn't going to. He was veritable relic from her parents' time and Emma wasn't going to let him go.

Cameron caught his breathe a second time and looked at Emma. "What were you talking about, Cap'n?" Emma had hoped that, in the process of catching his breath, he had forgotten about her question. Evidently not. "Nothing. I just thought I saw something in the water. It was probably the sun."

Cameron smirked, looking years younger than his actual age. "Aye. It could have been the sun. Or it could have been a mer-person."

Emma froze. Cameron hadn't seen anything. He couldn't have. Julian, the merman, hadn't been there long enough for Cameron to see. It was probably just seamen superstitions. Emma was more than sure that Cameron hadn't seen Julian. And since, to the rest of the world, he was a mythical creature, Cameron wouldn't ever see Julian. Hell, Emma probably wouldn't ever see Julian again. For a moment, the thought saddened her and weighed on her mind. As though she was going to be missing something vital for the rest of her life.

She shook it off. Ignoring the overwhelming feeling of loss, the likes of which she hadn't felt since her parents died. Emma turned toward the rock hiding the _Cordelia_. Gesturing to Cameron, Emma urgently said, "Come on. The sooner we get to _Cordelia_ , the faster I can see what needs repairs. And the sooner I can get the repairs done."

Cameron nodded and hurried to catch up to her, already halfway up the rocks obscuring the ship. Emma started scaling the rock, finding holds easily and quickly. Cameron lagged behind her, already panting. At the top, Emma could see her home lying almost on it's side and wearing a big hole on the side that was exposed. Hearing Cameron's audible breath behind her, Emma turned around and helped him up. Cameron tried to deny the help but when he couldn't make the last step, he reluctantly allowed her to gab his hand and pull him up. "Do you want help going down?" Emma asked, trying not to insult Cameron. "No, Cap'n. I think I'll be OK but perhaps you go first just in case. I'll try to copy you."

Emma tried not to chuckle as she nodded and started going down the other side of the rock. _It truly isn't that big._ Emma thought but kept to herself. Cameron, oftentimes, displayed a low self-esteem and Emma wasn't going to be the one to damage it any further than it already was. Cameron started climbing down once Emma was almost halfway down. Jumping the last few steps, Emma immediately turned towards her beloved ship and started running towards it. "Captain! Wait! Please, Emma. Give me a second!" She skidded to a stop on the sand and turned back to Cameron.

He was running towards her, pell-mell. "Cameron! Are you sure you should be doing that? What about your heart?!" Reaching Emma, Cameron stopped an breathed heavily again. Emma put her ad on his back as he leaned over his knees to try to catch his breath. "You are going to give me so much to worry about while we are here, aren't you?"

He smiled and nodded his head, lifting it again as they continued to walk towards _Cordelia_. Emma looked up at the ship and started to categorize what they would need to repair it. Most everything, she surmised, would be easy to find and could leave Cameron in charge of the repairs. There was, however, one single piece that they would need that Emma had to go searching for. Cameron turned to her. "The crew is in town. I stayed here to look for you. There weren't any casualties. There are some injuries but besides that, Em, we didn't suffer much except for the old girl." Patting the ship's hull and gesturing towards the town, Cameron updated her on what she should have already found out. But considering her distraction, Emma was ashamed that she hadn't tried to find that out before now. "OK. As long as everyone is safe, then I am going to go look for that damn piece. If I can even find it."

* * *

Julian hid underneath the waves for a long time. Longer than he should have. Half hearing the conversation that Emma was having with the overweight man and unable to stop himself from trying to extend the time he has with her. He shouldn't have felt like that. At all. Even doing what he was doing was grounds for exile. And he wasn't going to leave his siblings fending for themselves. Not after Livvy.

With that thought, Julian shook his head and turned back to go home.

After a long route, Julian began to see the glittering windows and buildings that made up his home. The Institute. Originally a school for humans, it sunk and the only words that survived were those. Merpeople inhabited it almost immediately. Being a previously nomadic people, the merpeople settled surprisingly well on the structure. It had been more than 3000 years since the first merperson made a home in The Institute. Julian was constantly mesmerized by the jewels adhered to the walls and buildings in The Institute. It was a sight to behold. The center tower loomed over the smaller, slightly insignificant towers. That was home. His father and mother had been in charge of The Institute since long before Mark or Helen; his older half-siblings, had been born. Now, after the war that had taken Livvy and his parents from him, the tower no longer held the same appeal it once did. No longer the welcoming sight of home, it felt like a responsibility since he was stuck taking care of not only his remaining siblings but his father's brother as well. Julian's uncle wasn't right in the head. Merpeople weren't tolerant of the people who weren't normal. _So my whole family._ Julian thought bitterly. He wasn't happy with his family's situation but he couldn't do anything about it yet. He was working through that but Julian was stuck currently.

After making his way through The Institute, Julian went to his family's wing. He lived in the giant tower that lorded over everything. Julian hated it. He hated the responsibility that came with living in the tower and the weight he had on his shoulders. Julian felt like the world was on his shoulders.

Sighing as he opened the door, Julian smiled. His family was all sitting "normally". Something was wrong. "Where's Diana?" Julian asked his baby brother, the weak link of his family.

Tavvy, Octavian, the baby, smiled crookedly and looked toward Drusilla, Julian's second youngest sibling. Dru shook her head slightly. Julian's shoulders sagged. He didn't have time for this. He needed to start on dinner and help Dru with her homework and try to talk to Ty again. That was what was weighing on him the most. Ty wasn't anywhere to be seen with the family and he wasn't talking to anyone. He's started to pull away more and more and Julian was so scared that Ty was going to do something he wasn't going to be able to fix. "Guys, just tell me please. Dru, come on." He pleaded to Dru, thinking that maybe she could take pity on him.

She wasn't going to. Dru looked at Julian and smiled. "Where do you think Diana is, Jules?"

Julian realized that they hadn't done anything to Diana and she was, instead, with Gwyn. Her boyfriend. He was one of the warriors of the people. _Gwyn was good for Diana_ , Julian thought. If only it wouldn't include leaving Tavvy and Dru alone for a length of time. Not that Dru wasn't capable of taking care of Tavvy but Julian didn't like leaving them alone. Not yet. In his mind, Julian still thought of Dru as his baby girl. Despite the fact that she was almost a teenager.

"Ok. So where's Helen, Aline and Mark, then?"

"I have no clue. I think Aline and Helen are in the library and Mark was heading outside, last time I knew."

Julian nodded and let the duo get back to reading and coloring. Heading to the library, he was mentally going through what they could eat for dinner. Helen and Aline were huddled over The Institute's books. Julian had never understood it. Instead of rotting away and molding over, the books that came with The Institute lived and thrived even with the water. The furniture too, never changed. "What are you guys doing?" Julian had arrived by Helen's side and was trying to look over her shoulder to see what they were so intent on. Aline jerked and moved to cover the paper and Helen swirled around, leaving a trail of bubbles in her wake. "HEY! Jules, you're back! What's up?"

Helen was acting strange and Julian was feeling uncomfortable, keeping secrets from his family. He wasn't going to tell Helen about the ship and the girl-Emma-at least, not yet. Julian wasn't sure whether Helen or Aline would have to report his interactions with a human. And he wasn't about to put them in that situation. Not after everything they had given him. "Nothing is up. Do you guys want anything specific for dinner? I got some oysters."

Aline returned from putting whatever they had been looking at away and shook her head. "We're good with whatever you want. I still don't understand that contraption that came with this damn building. And I grew up with it." Aline grabbed her wife's hand and began to swim away.

Helen waved as they left Julian standing in the middle of the library.

Julian wanted to look for whatever it was they had been looking at but he needed to get dinner started. Aline had had a point when she had stated that Julian was the only one that knew how to work the stovetop that had come with The Institute. Ty had tried once and had just stood there blankly until Julian had taken over. Helen and Aline had each tried and they had both succeeded in almost burning down an underwater edifice. Mark wouldn't even go near the stovetop. Julian shook his head and began to go to the kitchen to prepare dinner.


End file.
